Bridgestone, KDDI, NEC, Shionogi, Toyota: Japan Equity Preview

Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have
unusual price changes in Japanese trading today. Stock symbols
are in parentheses, and share prices are from the previous close.
The information in each item was released after markets shut,
unless stated otherwise.

Bridgestone Corp. (5108 JT): The world’s largest tiremaker
said it may boost sales to 3.5 trillion yen ($43 billion) by
2012 as demand grows in markets including China, India and
Brazil. The stock advanced 1.9 percent to 1,455 yen.

Chugoku Bank Ltd. (8382 JT): The regional bank raised its
full-year net income forecast 19 percent to 12.5 billion yen.
The lender said it will spend as much as 1 billion yen to buy
back up to 0.4 percent of its outstanding shares. The stock
gained 0.3 percent to 967 yen.

Hitachi Ltd. (6501 JT): The industrial group will join a
project worth more than 450 billion yen to develop an
environment-friendly zone in Dalian, China, according to a
separate Nikkei report. The stock rose 2.9 percent to 357 yen.

Honda Motor Co. (7267 JT): The automaker will start
importing motorbikes made in Thailand to sell in Japan for the
first time, the Asahi newspaper reported, without saying where
it got the information. The stock fell 1 percent to 2,916 yen.

JX Holdings Inc. (5020 JT): The oil refiner plans to cut
1,000 jobs at its JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. subsidiary
through an early retirement program. The unit had 10,432
employees as of Oct. 1, the company said in a statement. It
expects to take a charge this fiscal year for the cuts, the
statement said. The stock was unchanged at 475 yen.

KDDI Corp. (9433 JT): Japan’s second-biggest mobile-phone
operator said net income rose 10 percent to 65 billion yen in
the three months ended Sept. 30. The company separately said it
will spend as much as 100 billion yen to buy back up to 5.16
percent of its outstanding shares. The stock gained 0.4 percent
to 406,500 yen.

Kirayaka Bank Ltd. (8520 JT): The regional bank is in
merger talks with closely held Sendai Bank Ltd. (SDBKZ JP),
public broadcaster NHK said. The banks will merge under a
holding company during the next fiscal year, the report said.
Kirayaka Bank lost 2.7 percent to 73 yen.

Keiyo Bank Ltd. (8544 JT): The regional bank booked 6.6
billion yen in net income for the six months to Sept. 30, up 10
percent from the company’s forecast. The stock was unchanged at
381 yen.

Meiko Network Japan Co. (4668 JT): The cram school operator
said it will cancel 10.57 percent of its outstanding ordinary
shares, or 3.674 million, on Nov. 8. The stock rose 0.6 percent
to 690 yen.

Misumi Group Inc. (9962 JT): The mail-order distributor of
precision machine parts said its sales in September jumped 34
percent to 10 billion yen from the same month a year ago. The
stock slid 0.4 percent to 1,691 yen.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211 JT): The automaker said its
first-half net loss narrowed to 4.9 billion yen from 36.4
billion yen a year earlier after sales gained, according to a
preliminary earnings statement. The company had forecast a 9
billion yen loss for the period. The stock increased 1 percent
to 98 yen.

NEC Corp. (6701 JT): The electronics maker may post a 2
billion yen operating profit for the six months ended in
September, lower than a 5 billion yen target, Nikkei English
News reported, without saying where it obtained the information.
The stock rose 0.9 percent to 237 yen.

Nippon Steel Corp. (5401 JT): The steelmaker’s sales rose
almost 30 percent to more than 2 trillion yen in the April-September period in which pretax profit was about 130 billion
yen, Nikkei English News reported, without saying where it
obtained the information. The stock was unchanged at 264 yen.

Sojitz Corp. (2768 JT): The trading company’s pretax profit
for the six months ended September may have increased to about
18 billion yen on trading in the energy and metals unit, Nikkei
English News reported, without saying where it obtained the
information. The stock was unchanged at 146 yen.

Sumitomo Corp. (8053 JT): The trading company is looking to
source rare earths in the U.S. as exports from China become
restricted, and may be interested in a stake in Molycorp Inc.’s
open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California, the Asahi newspaper
reported. Sumitomo declined to comment. The stock rose 0.8
percent to 1,077 yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316 JT): The
financial group may have interim earnings of 400 billion yen
after subsidiary Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. raises its
interim profit forecast to a record 350 billion yen, the Yomiuri
newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the
information. The stock gained 1.4 percent to 2,406 yen.

Takara Holdings Inc. (2531 JT): The maker of distilled
spirits booked a first-half net income of 1.3 billion yen, up 63
percent from the company’s forecast, according to a preliminary
earnings statement. The stock gained 1.1 percent to 457 yen.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203 JT): The automaker expects the yen
to trade around 80 during the remainder of this fiscal year, the
Yomiuri newspaper reported. The revision would translate into a
reduction in earnings of about 150 billion yen during the period,
the report said. The stock rose 0.9 percent to 2,926 yen.